JANUARY, A.D. 2012

As I re-read last January’s newsletter I was amazed at how wonderfully God had blessed our desire to trust in Him in the midst of the trials and tribulations many of us faced going into 2011. Now, a year later, I feel surrounded by evidence of God’s blessings in our church. At the end of this month I’ll have been pastor of Faith P.C. for 17 years. That is not quite one half of my pastoral career overall. When I was ordained as a minister of the word and sacrament up in Minnesota in December of 1976, I knew I was headed for North Carolina to pastor a two-church parish in the mountains of Buncombe county. I don’t guess I’ve ever seriously made any 5-year plans in my life, and I doubt I ever would have guessed back then that I would not only wind up in Texas, but be here 17 years and counting!

This month is named for the Roman ‘god’ Janus, a two-faced figure who was considered the ‘god’ of beginnings, transitions, doors, gates… endings and time. His name is the root for both January and janitor; hmmm. Janitors are the ‘gatekeepers’ of buildings, with keys to most doors to get in and around the building. It’s interesting how we have come to understand the term “two-faced” as referring to a liar or hypocrite, but that’s another article.

Another major transition for me this year is the end of my ministry to the folks at Peace Lutheran Church on Pine Bluff, where I have been the ‘supply pastor’ for about 15 years. Their numbers have dwindled to where they cannot continue to maintain their facilities. I am hoping that the Lord will lead many of them to join with us here at Faith P.C. I have told them that we are pretty good at receiving ‘refugees’ from other churches, as many of you can testify. I ask you to join me in praying for all of them to find a new church home where they can worship and serve the Lord, and experience a broader range of Christian fellowship and ministry to an even greater extent than they have been able to in recent years.

As we enter this new “year of our Lord”, Anno Domini, 2012 I pray that we all will be eagerly anticipating how the Lord my be using us to honor and serve Him, and one another. I would direct you all to look at Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 to get a biblical perspective on time. “To everything there is a season, and

a time for every matter under heaven”.

May the Lord bless/lead us throughout the new year. Pastor John